Data is the “oil” of the 21st century. In recent years, there has been a continuous upsurge in data. By 2020, every person on Earth had been generating an average of 1.7 MB of data per second.
As the usage of the internet increases, the amount of data generated every single day is growing exponentially. And it is only going to keep growing. What happens to all this unstructured data? This is where data science comes into play!
Data science is a science of blending various algorithms, machine learning principles, and tools to find meaningful insights from heaps of raw data. Why is data science important in today’s time? Originally, the data that existed was small in size and structured. Hence, we were able to use traditional business tools. Today, the data being originated is mostly semi-structured or unstructured. To analyze and process this data, we need more complex business intelligence tools. This is why data science is so important. Today, every sector, every industry – be it healthcare, manufacturing, or finance – is using the applications of data science.
Those individuals who practice the art of data science are called data scientists. They crack complex issues using their expertise in different domains and skills such as programming skills, statistical skills, and mathematical skills. They find information that is valuable for the growth and development of an organization.
If you are looking forward to starting your career in data science, there are many ways to do so –
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1. Earn a bachelor’s and/or master’s degree
To pursue a career in data science, one should ideally pursue a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in the field of computer science with a specialization in data science.
2. Pursue certification courses
If you have already pursued your bachelor’s or master’s degree in a different field and want to transition into the field of data science, you can pursue Data Science courses to acquire all the necessary skills and then begin your career. Certification courses in data science can also give your resume a boost.
3. Build a portfolio of projects
To showcase what you have learnt from your education and certification courses, highlight the project work that you undertook during these programs. This demonstrates that you are a serious professional looking to enter this lucrative field.
4. Get an entry-level job
Once you have acquired the necessary qualifications and skills, you can get an entry-level job to get started in the field of data science.
5. Get a doctorate
For even better opportunities, you can consider getting a PhD in data science or computer science.
6. Promotion
After you have earned your doctorate, you can move up the corporate ladder with a promotion.
Different job roles in data science can take you to different end positions.
1. Data scientist
- If you start your career with the position of a junior data scientist, you would be earning an average salary of Rs. 7,00,000 per annum. The skills required for this job role include Mathematics, Statistics, Python, AWS, R language, and so on.
- After 2 to 4 years, the next position you move on to would be an associate data scientist. You can expect a salary of around 12 lakh per annum.
- After 4 to 8 years, you would then be promoted to the position of a senior data scientist. Along with other skills, project experience skills are also required at this stage. You can expect a rise in your salary up to 14 lakhs per annum.
- After 8 to 10 years, you would be promoted to the position of product manager. The average salary of a product manager is around 17 lakhs per annum.
- The next position that you would get promoted to after 10 to 15 years, is lead data scientist. Along with other skills, a lead data scientist should also have AWS, Tableau, Management skills, and Google Cloud skills. The average salary is around 22 lakhs per annum.
- The end position in this career path is that of Director/Vice President/Senior Vice President. After an experience of over 15 years, you can get promoted to this position. The average salary per annum at these positions is 50 lakhs per annum.
2. Data analyst
- If you are starting your career in the position of a data analyst, you can expect a salary of 6 lakhs per annum. You should possess skills such as data modeling, Tableau, Python, and R.
- After 2 years, you would be promoted to the position of associate data analyst. The average salary of an associate data analyst is 11 lakhs per annum.
- After 4 to 8 years, you would be working as a senior data analyst with an average salary of 13 lakhs per annum. Other than the above-mentioned skills, a senior data analyst requires skills such as Tableau, data visualization, data modeling, and project experience.
- After 8 to 10 years of experience, you would be promoted to the position of product manager. The average salary of a product manager is around 15 lakhs per annum.
- After an experience of 10 to 15 years, you would be working in the position of a lead data analyst, with an average salary package of 20 lakhs per annum.
- With over 15 years of experience, the final position you would be promoted to would be Director/Vice President/Senior Vice President. In this position, you are expected to possess skills such as cloud computing and product vision, apart from other skills.
Similarly, if you start your data science career from the position of a data engineer or a business intelligence developer, you will end up in the position of director with a salary package of 30 to 40 lakhs per annum, through a similar career path as mentioned above. The demand for these professionals is extremely high right now and it will keep on rising, but the number of data science professionals are still less which is why this is the perfect time to start your career in data science.
